Eco friendly data storage for the 21st century

Document storage solutions have always relied on physical materials and physical media. It is very easy for a business to accumulate mass volumes of paper, files and documents, as well as electronic data storage such as hard drives, servers and other storage devices. Regardless of the size or type of business, document storage solutions are critical to their day-to-day operations. Effective storage rewards quick and easy referencing, retrieving and backing-up of data, as well as reduced physical space. However, existing storage solutions, even if they are effectively implemented, can be economically and environmentally impaction. Some businesses rely on wasteful technologies which can easily be improved to benefit the business and its carbon footprint.

The Changes In Storage Technologies

Storage technologies have developed and changed substantially over the past 20 years. As data volumes have grown and the requirements required of them have become more demanding, the storage capabilities of devices have substantially increased to meet these requirements. Businesses depend on tape disks and servers for the majority of their storage needs. They allow for secure access and back-up of large volumes of data. However, many businesses also depend on smaller storage devices. USB pen drives are commonly used for quick and easy transfer of files and documents. Many businesses even continue to use old storage relics such as floppy disks, zip drives and writable DVDs. Although they may have no practical use for them, it can be difficult for some stubborn businesses to replace their outdated and wasteful technologies.

The Limitations of Existing Storage

Old storage technologies can take up considerable amounts of physical space. Storing different formats and types of storage media can be difficult, as can disposing of it. Many businesses simply do not want to invest time into transferring existing data from old mediums to new ones, even though it can be a relatively simple process that can reward increased efficiency. Likewise, some businesses believe it easier to accumulate more and more storage devices than to invest in an all inclusive storage model that would incorporate everything together.
Accessibility also becomes an issue with different storage mediums. More and more users have access to several computer devices, such as tablets, mobile phones and laptops. When existing data is spread across different storage devices, such as servers, USB drives and DVDs, it can be difficult to keep track of where data is and what devices the format is compatible with.

Physical Storage

Many businesses still produce considerable amounts of physical data. Memos, print-offs and various documents are still produced by many businesses in great volumes. This is wasteful of resources and difficult to handle, store and destroy.

Eco-Friendly Storage

There are many Eco-friendly storage solutions for businesses. Cloud storage is increasingly becoming more and more popular and is not only less harmful to the environment, but can also provide accessibility, security and efficiency for many different storage requirements.
Cloud storage is the process of transferring data to a remote server via the Internet. Often provided by a third party company, users can securely access these cloud servers and store and access different formats of data on these servers. This greatly reduces the storage needs of a business. Not only are all the servers provided by the third party, but all data maintenance, such as checking data integrity and making access secure, is carried out by the company too.

Offsite storage can also be environmentally friendly. Businesses can back-up their data in a similar way to cloud storage in a process called e-vaulting, which allows businesses to transfer data via the Internet to be stored in a remote, offsite facility. These high security facilities keep all the data on protected servers or tape drives in purpose built vaults. As all the data needs of are met by the external third party company, the business (and many others like it) does not have to invest in their own personal servers.

The Future of Data Storage

By using cloud storage and offsite storage, businesses do not have to invest in their own local storage solutions. Their needs are taken care of by a third party company who are not only capable of supplying effective solutions to hundreds, if not thousands, of different businesses, but who have the expertise and knowledge to do so with as little environmental impact as possible. By reducing the need for businesses to purchase and invest in local storage, these Eco-friendly methods ensure that fewer storage devices are required and, ultimately, do not have to be disposed of. They are beneficial to the business, as well as the environment, as they provide efficiency, security and flexibility.